The Cold War era from 1949 to 1989 was a period of global political and military tensions between Western countries and the Soviet Union. Major events included the space race, nuclear proliferation and arms buildup, conflicts like the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War, and ideological battles between democracy and communism. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" succinctly lists over 100 historical figures and events that occurred during this time period to summarize the key developments and tensions of the Cold War era in under 3 minutes of lyrics.